# When will it be safe to wear a Hitler moustache again? **URL:** \ **Category:** In My Humble Opinion\ **Created:** [June 18, 2003, 6:58am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/when-will-it-be-safe-to-wear-a-hitler-moustache-again/182652 "2003-06-18T06:58:57Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 20\ **Page:** 1
**Author:** ![FabioClone](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/f/5f8ce5/32.png) [@FabioClone](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/FabioClone)\ **Post date:** [June 18, 2003, 6:58am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/when-will-it-be-safe-to-wear-a-hitler-moustache-again/182652/1 "2003-06-18T06:58:57Z")
I ask because I think I could pull it off. I think enough time may have elapsed that I could proudly sport that particular tuft of hair without being associated with fascism and genocide. What do you think? If you saw me walking down the street, would you think “Hey, looking good!” or “Racist warmonger?” ---
**Author:** ![Alereon](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/a/ecd19e/32.png) [@Alereon](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Alereon)\ **Post date:** [June 18, 2003, 7:14am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/when-will-it-be-safe-to-wear-a-hitler-moustache-again/182652/2 "2003-06-18T07:14:06Z")
I wouldn’t think racist, but I would think “Hey, a Hitler moustache!” ---
**Author:** ![Feynn](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/f/ecb155/32.png) [@Feynn](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Feynn)\ **Post date:** [June 18, 2003, 7:16am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/when-will-it-be-safe-to-wear-a-hitler-moustache-again/182652/3 "2003-06-18T07:16:30Z")
Not in this lifetime. ---
**Author:** ![grimpixie](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/g/ecb155/32.png) [@grimpixie](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/grimpixie)\ **Post date:** [June 18, 2003, 7:17am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/when-will-it-be-safe-to-wear-a-hitler-moustache-again/182652/4 "2003-06-18T07:17:30Z")
I think [Robert Mugabe](http://www.usafricaonline.com/zimviolence.2k2.html) pulls it off altright… ::d&r:: ---
**Author:** ![hajario](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/hajario/32/171_2.png) [@hajario](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/hajario)\ **Post date:** [June 18, 2003, 7:25am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/when-will-it-be-safe-to-wear-a-hitler-moustache-again/182652/5 "2003-06-18T07:25:14Z")
A little over twenty years ago there was a New Wave band called [Sparks](http://images.amazon.com/images/P/B00000DCU1.01.LZZZZZZZ.gif). One of the lead guys had a Hitler moustache and no one cared all that much. Haj ---
**Author:** ![betenoir](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/b/258eb7/32.png) [@betenoir](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/betenoir)\ **Post date:** [June 18, 2003, 7:35am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/when-will-it-be-safe-to-wear-a-hitler-moustache-again/182652/6 "2003-06-18T07:35:00Z")
> [@](#): > > \*Originally posted by FabioClone \* > \*\*I ask because I think I could pull it off. I think enough time may have elapsed that I could proudly sport that particular tuft of hair without being associated with fascism and genocide. > > What do you think? If you saw me walking down the street, would you think “Hey, looking good!” or “Racist warmonger?” \*\* Great. Now I’m picturing Fabio with a Hitler moustach. Now there’s a disturbing image to try and sleep on. I think you have to consider the third possibility of “Hey, whose the guy with the stupid looking moustach?” I mean…people only stopped making fun of Hitler’s moustach when he was able to have them killed for it. ---
**Author:** ![wei](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/w/90ced4/32.png) [@wei](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/wei)\ **Post date:** [June 18, 2003, 7:51am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/when-will-it-be-safe-to-wear-a-hitler-moustache-again/182652/7 "2003-06-18T07:51:11Z")
I don’t think it will be until the Americans and such stop teaching history. ---
**Author:** ![that.sound.again](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/t/e5b9ba/32.png) [@that.sound.again](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/that.sound.again)\ **Post date:** [June 18, 2003, 9:46am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/when-will-it-be-safe-to-wear-a-hitler-moustache-again/182652/8 "2003-06-18T09:46:17Z")
Why isn’t it called a Charlie Chaplin moustache, by the way? You can claim you’re trying to look goofy, not evil. Might have to prove it with some silent, a-little-too-fast slapstick routines, though… Just go easy on the khaki shirts, long boots and flappy riding pants (what are those called?) if you decide to go for it… ---
**Author:** ![Mangetout](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/mangetout/32/19_2.png) [@Mangetout](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Mangetout)\ **Post date:** [June 18, 2003, 10:14am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/when-will-it-be-safe-to-wear-a-hitler-moustache-again/182652/9 "2003-06-18T10:14:35Z")
I think maybe a good indicator will be when people stop calling it a Hitler moustache. ---
**Author:** ![MC\_Master\_of\_Ceremonies](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/bb73d2/32.png) [@MC\_Master\_of\_Ceremonies](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/MC_Master_of_Ceremonies)\ **Post date:** [June 18, 2003, 11:18am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/when-will-it-be-safe-to-wear-a-hitler-moustache-again/182652/10 "2003-06-18T11:18:13Z")
> [@](#): > > \*Originally posted by grimpixie \* > \*\*I think [Robert Mugabe](http://www.usafricaonline.com/zimviolence.2k2.html) pulls it off altright… > > ::d&r:: \*\* That’s not a moustauvhe that’s just the cleft (or whateve it’s called under the nose. ---
**Author:** ![Jervoise](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/j/d2c977/32.png) [@Jervoise](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Jervoise)\ **Post date:** [June 18, 2003, 12:03pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/when-will-it-be-safe-to-wear-a-hitler-moustache-again/182652/11 "2003-06-18T12:03:21Z")
> [@](#): > > \*Originally posted by that.sound.again \* > \*\*Just go easy on the khaki shirts, long boots and flappy riding pants (what are those called?) if you decide to go for it… \*\* Jodphurs. 🙂 ---
**Author:** ![Neurotik](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/n/91b2a8/32.png) [@Neurotik](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Neurotik)\ **Post date:** [June 18, 2003, 1:11pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/when-will-it-be-safe-to-wear-a-hitler-moustache-again/182652/12 "2003-06-18T13:11:49Z")
Rick Adelman had one for a while. Everyone made fun of him. I think his team called him “Herr Adelman” (in a fun way) behind his back. But no one thought it was racist or anything. Just like **Alereon** , everyone thought “Hey! A Hitler mustache!” ---
**Author:** ![Johnny\_L.A](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/johnny_l.a/32/1084_2.png) [@Johnny\_L.A](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Johnny_L.A)\ **Post date:** [June 18, 2003, 1:19pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/when-will-it-be-safe-to-wear-a-hitler-moustache-again/182652/13 "2003-06-18T13:19:41Z")
If you wear a tight jacket, baggy pants, a bowler hat and carry a cane, people would probably not think you were imitating Hitler. 😉 ---
**Author:** ![Green\_Bean](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/green_bean/32/1760_2.png) [@Green\_Bean](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Green_Bean)\ **Post date:** [June 18, 2003, 1:33pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/when-will-it-be-safe-to-wear-a-hitler-moustache-again/182652/14 "2003-06-18T13:33:51Z")
> [@](#): > > \*Originally posted by Narrad \* > \*\*Jodphurs. 🙂 \*\* I’m not trying to nitpick your spelling, but it’s really a very weirdly spelled word–the correct spelling is jodhpurs. ---
**Author:** ![everton](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/e/ecb155/32.png) [@everton](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/everton)\ **Post date:** [June 18, 2003, 1:42pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/when-will-it-be-safe-to-wear-a-hitler-moustache-again/182652/15 "2003-06-18T13:42:19Z")
> [@](#): > > \*Originally posted by MC Master of Ceremonies \* > \*\*Robert Mugabe… That’s not a moustauvhe that’s just the cleft (or whateve it’s called under the nose. \*\* Philtrum. I must admit I immediately thought of Ron Mael of Sparks when I read the thread title. He’s switched to one of those [Clark Gable pencil jobs](http://www.thebossbookingagency.com/sparks.html) now, btw, but in his heyday he certainly looked more like a malevolent Chaplin than an Adolf. Getting away with it would depend on whether it made _you_ look more like a Chaplin or a Hitler. Why not try a fake one over the weekend some time and see what reaction you get from friends and family? ---
**Author:** ![TWDuke](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/t/e495f1/32.png) [@TWDuke](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/TWDuke)\ **Post date:** [June 18, 2003, 2:04pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/when-will-it-be-safe-to-wear-a-hitler-moustache-again/182652/16 "2003-06-18T14:04:07Z")
I tried a handlebar design My Fu Manchu was real fine My Ronald Colman made 'em blink My Pancho Villa made 'em think But when I trimmed 'em real small My Jewish friends would never call -----------------Sparks, “[Moustache](http://kafejo.com/muziko/sparks/spksmisc.htm#moustache)” ---
**Author:** ![that.sound.again](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/t/e5b9ba/32.png) [@that.sound.again](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/that.sound.again)\ **Post date:** [June 18, 2003, 3:10pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/when-will-it-be-safe-to-wear-a-hitler-moustache-again/182652/17 "2003-06-18T15:10:40Z")
> [@](#): > > \*Originally posted by Narrad \* > \*\*Jodphurs. 🙂 \*\* Or jodhpurs, whatever. Thanks! I see I came here a little too late for filling in the philtrum blank. Ah well, I’ll get another chance to make up for the jodhpur thingsomeday. ---
**Author:** ![Marley23](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/45deac/32.png) [@Marley23](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Marley23)\ **Post date:** [June 18, 2003, 6:40pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/when-will-it-be-safe-to-wear-a-hitler-moustache-again/182652/18 "2003-06-18T18:40:08Z")
You could probably make the moustache work. (I thought is was called a postage stamp, myself.) Just don’t wear one while invading Poland. VERY cliche. ---
**Author:** ![DreadCthulhu](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/d/db5fbb/32.png) [@DreadCthulhu](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/DreadCthulhu)\ **Post date:** [June 18, 2003, 6:44pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/when-will-it-be-safe-to-wear-a-hitler-moustache-again/182652/19 "2003-06-18T18:44:39Z")
Right now, it will even help you pick up women too! [Here](http://www.krakowstudios.com/comicpro/strips/krakow20020412.gif) 🙂 ---
**Author:** ![El\_Kabong](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/el_kabong/32/496_2.png) [@El\_Kabong](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/El_Kabong)\ **Post date:** [June 18, 2003, 6:47pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/when-will-it-be-safe-to-wear-a-hitler-moustache-again/182652/20 "2003-06-18T18:47:16Z")
> [@](#): > > When will it be safe to wear a Hitler moustache again? Dunno. I imagine about the same time it’s once again safe to name male children “Adolph”. [Next page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/when-will-it-be-safe-to-wear-a-hitler-moustache-again/182652.md?page=2)